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Winter Garden: The Exploration of the Micropop Imagination in Contemporary Japanese Art

Since the interest in Japanese pop culture has been growing all over the world, The Japan Foundation has asked Ms. Midori Matsui, an art critic, to curate the exhibition. The subject of this exhibition is the world of “Micropop” as embodied by the generation of young Japanese artists who came onto the scene during the latter half of the 1990s and the first half of the 2000s. “Micropop,” a word coined by Matsui, refers to the unique worldview of artists who rearrange diverse fragments of information and knowledge to give new meanings and uses to things that are outdated and commonplace.

>> Domestic Exhibition (May 23 - July 20, 2009)

March 10 - April 17, 2010

Aberystwyth Arts Centre (Aberystwyth, UK)

December 11, 2009 - February 13, 2010

The Japan Cultural Institute in Rome (Rome, Italy)

September 1 - November 20, 2009

The Japan Cultural Institute in Cologne (Cologne, Germany)


Lyota Yagi
VINYL (2006)
silicone, purified water, record player, freezer
©2006 Lyota Yagi
Courtesy: Mujin-to Production, Tokyo

 

Makiko Kudo
might fly at night (2007)
oil on canvas, 117.0x117.0cm
©Makiko Kudo
Courtesy: Tomio Koyama Gallery

Masaya Chiba
Crying face (2008)
oil on canvas, wood, 160x93.3x30.7cm
©Masaya Chiba
Courtesy: ShugoArts

Masanori Handa
Turnoff Paradise sense-surfing part 1&2 (2007)
oil, felt-tip pen on tile, mounted on 2 wood panels, 148.0x148.0cm
Courtesy: Kodama Gallery

Taro Izumi
Curos Cave (2005)
DVD (8min.37sec)
Courtesy: HIROMI YOSHII

 

Catalog of the exhibition

Catalog of the exhibition“Winter Garden: The Exploration of the Micropop Imagination in Contemporary Japanese Art”

*Click to enlarge

This book is the catalogue of the exhibition entitled "Winter Garden: The Exploration of the Micropop Imagination in Contemporary Japanese Art." The exhibition was planned by the Japan Foundation and curated by art critic Midori Matsui to introduce a new generation of contemporary Japanese artists to the world. It will be traveling all over the world for next five to ten years.

The catalogue consists of images of all the exhibited works--35 drawings, paintings, and video works by 14 artists--and text written by Ms. Matsui. She coined the word “Micropop” to describe the mindset of the new generation of Japanese artists born in the late 1960s or after, who rearrange fragments of information and knowledge to suggest fresh ways of perceiving the world or give new meanings to the outmoded and banal. In the catalogue, she explained this new viewpoint using a lot of examples and images.

The catalogue also contains wonderful installation views of the exhibition held at the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art from June to July, 2009. The catalogue is written in both English and Japanese and is available at Japan Foundation Information Center (JFIC).

 

Catalog of the exhibition “Winter Garden: The Exploration of the Micropop Imagination in Contemporary Japanese Art”
In English and Japanese/ 84 pages
ISBN: 978-4-568-10379-3
Price: ¥ 1,000 (JFSC price: ¥900)
Date of Publication: August, 2009

 

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